The F-35B Now Has A Fuel Problem So Bad It's Been Grounded

Almost one year ago today, citing the progress the F-35B STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant made in 2011, Secretary of defence Leon Panetta lifted probation for the F-35B, about one year ahead of schedule. It may have been too soon.The STOVL had come close to being scrapped after technical issues along with massive cost overruns had put the monumentally complex version at risk.

On Jan. 18, 2013, defence News was the first media outlet to spread the news that the DoD office in charge of the F-35 program has grounded the F-35B variant of the Joint Strike Fighter for precautionary reasons after a test flight at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida was aborted by the pilot as the plane was conducting a conventional takeoff roll.

According to defence News’ Aaron Mehta the abort was caused by “a failure to a propulsion fueldraulic line, which enables movement in the actuators for the STOVL’s exhaust system.”

While Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce engineers investigate the incident on the P&W engines that have successfully completed almost 25,000 hours of testing, the other two variants (A – conventional, and C – Carrier Variant), are not affected by the grounding.